phillips



(No Model.)

C. PHILLIPS. STEAM AND A1B. BRAKE.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. PHILLIPS.

(No Model.)

VNo. 307,492.

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tillnrrnn diaries attenti#u reilen.

OOLLUMBUS PHILLIPS, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR OF T'WO-THIRDS TO GREEN I. FOREAORE AND JOSEPH Bf TRAVIS, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

STEAM AND AIR BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 307,492, dated November 4, 1884.

' Application filed February 12, 1884. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, CoLLUMBUs PinLLiPs, a citizen of the United States, residing at At- 4lanta, in the county of Fulton and State of 5 Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam and Air Brakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the 1o art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to atmospheric airbrakes used on railways, and has for its object to eifectually prevent the sticking of the I 5 piston in the brake-cylinder when the brakes are taken off, and consequently the necessity of bleeding7 the brake-cylinder, as heretofore, to effect the release of the piston; and to that end it consists in completely, so far as 2o effecting the release is concerned, exhausting the air from the said cylinder at the time that the brakes are taken off' by means under the control of the engineer` without leaving his cab, of which an illustration will be given in the accompanying drawings, and particularly described in the following description.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective of the auxiliary reservoir (broken in two) brake-cylinder and triple valve of a resting- 5 3o house air-brake with my attachment applied thereto, some of the parts being in section. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in elevation of my release attachment in vertical section. Fig.

8 is a plan view on the line x .c of Fig. 2;

' 35 Fig. 4, a bottom view of valve in the brakerelease chamber.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A indicates the main brake-pipe connected by a branch pipe,B,with the triple valve C,formed 4c with two chambers, D and E, in which work the piston F and stem G, and slide valve H, the casing or shell I of the triple valve being formed, in addition to the port for the main brake-pipe, with the port J for the auxiliary reservoir K, and the port L for the pipe M leading to the brake-cylinder N; also, with the four-way cock O, and other usual features, as illustrated, of the triple valve .in gencral use in the W'estinghouse air-brake. These parts, so far generally referred to, are of well- 5o known construction, and operate in the usual well-known way, and therefore need not be more particularly described.

Under the construction referred to, while the air is exhausted from the brake-cylinder to release the brakes, still, at times from the air not being completely exhausted, the brake will stick, and it then becomes necessary to go to the cylinder and turn a cock, so as to bleed the cylinder before the brake will release. The inconvenience and disadvantages attending such necessary steps are familiar to all loconiotive-engineers. Various means have been devised to overcome such difficulties. Inorder to overcome such inconveniences and difficulties, I connect with the brake-cylinder and the main brake-pipe an attachment constructed as follows: Two chambers, I and Q, which I will designate, respectively, as the air-pressure chamber and the air or brake release chamber,77 are connected together by a bar, R. The airpressure chamber is provided with npper and lower screw-caps, P P2, and within it is fitted a valve, P3, the stem P* of which passes through the upper cap,whilc to its lower face aleather cup-valve, I, is secured by means of the plate or washer b and screw c. A suitable spring, preferably a coiled spring, P6, iitsbetween the upper cap and top face of valve P3, and exerts a downward pressure on the Valve when compressed. The air-release chamber Q is preferably of smaller diameter than the pressure-chamber, and is provided with upper and lower caps, Q Q2, which preferably screw into the chamber, the upper cap having a valve-seat, d, formed therein. Vithin `the release-chamber is fitted a valve, Q3, of

any construction suitable for the purpose, but preferably of the form shown `with wings e, and having notches or ports f made in its periphery for the passage of steam when the valve is nnseated, and with its stein Q4, which passes through the upper cap, slightly flattened, as seen at t', on one or more sides for the whole or a portion of its length, tovpermit the escape of steam between the stem and the walls of the opening in the cap when the valve Fia is unseated. A suitable spring, Q5, preferably a spiral spring, ts between the lower cap and the valve and bears against both, so that it will hold the valve against its-seat and assist in reseating it after the pressure which unseated it has been reduced or overcome. Nor.- mally the stems of both valves preferably protrude outside of their respective chambers, and bear against or are in such proximity thereto that they can be readily brought into contact with a beam, R', pivoted or journaled by a pin or bolt, g, to a postor support, R2, connected by a bolt, h, or other suitable means to the bar R. This beam-lever preferably stands at an inclination, as shown, with its longest arm between its support and 'the pressurechamber; but if necessary it can be adjusted .to bring the longest arm between the releasechamber and post, both the beam and connecting-bar being formed with a series of holes for the adjustment of both beam and post, or either,

The attachment constructed as described is applied by connecting the pressure-chamber P with the main brake-pipe by means of a pipe, S, entering the coupling` A at one end, and the lower cap of the pressure-chamber at the other end, and the release-chamber with the brakecylinder by means of a pipe, T, entering the lower cap of the pressure-chamber and connecting with the cock U, heretofore used for bleeding the brake-cylinder. It will be thus observed that the attachment can be applied to brakes already in use very readily and at a very small cost.

In operation, when the engineer from his cab exhausts the air from the' main brake-pipe to put on the brakes, and the air passes from the auxiliary reservoir t0 the brake-cylinder through the connecting-pipe, the air at the time that it enters the brake-cylinder also passes from the same through pipe T into the release-chamber and presses against the valve therein, but cannot escape, because the valve is pressed against its seat, and hence the brake is applied as yeffectively as heretofore; but when the pressure is applied through the main pipe as heretofore to release the brakes, a sufn'cient portion ofthe air passes through pipe S into the pressure-chamber P to overcome the spring therein and press out the valvestem so that it will bear against and elevate that end of the beam, thereby lowering the other end, and through, it pressing down the stem and unseating the valve in the releasechamber, so as to effect an escape for the steam from the brake-cylinder through the releasechamber, and hence so long as the valve in the release-chamber is open and the pressure in the brake-cylinder is greater than the atmosphericl pressure the air must escape from the cylinder, and consequently there can be no possibility of the piston sticking by reason of pressure of air in the cylinder preventing it from receding to its former position. It will be observedtoo, that the operation of the release is under the absolute control of the engineer from the cab, and that the piston cannot stick, and that the necessityof bleeding the brake-cylinder as heretofore in `the construction of air-brakes such as described is pletely overcome. Y

The capacity of the two chambers and the `tension of the springs and the leverage of the beams are such that when air is applied to take off the brakes the pressure of the air admitted to the pressure-chamber will easily overcome the pressure of the springs and of the air in the brake-cylinder.

I have, for the purposes of illustration and of showing how the releaser can be applied to the Vestinghouse brake in common use, shown the releaser applied to such a brake with its ordinary appendages; but it will be understood that I do not limit myself to its use with the details of construction of the several parts of such a brake, as changes may be made in such parts, and my invention still be serviceable for the purpose for which it was designed.

I have described the parts as applied to airbrakes; but it will of course be understood that the invention is not limited to such use where it can be used with other motive power.

Having thus described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claim isll. The combination7 with the brake-cylinder and main brake-pipe, of a pressure-charnber communicating with the main pipe to receive air therefrom, a release-chamber communicating with the brake-cylinder, valves within the two chambers, and means for transmitting motion from one valve to the other, to unseat the latter and allow the exhaust of air from the brake-cylinder, substantially asset forth.

2. The combination, with the brake-cylinder and main brake-pipe, of a pressure-chamber communicating with the main pipe to receive air therefrom, a release-chamber communicating with the brake-cylinder, valves within the two cha1nbers,and a beam for transmitting motion from one valve to the other, to unseat the latter-and allow the exhaust of air from the brake-cylinder, substantially. as se forth. Y

3. The combination, with the brake-cylinder and main brake-pipe, of apressure-chamber communicating with the main pipe to receive air therefrom, a release-chamber communicating with the brake-cylinder, valves within'the two chambers, springs acting on said valves to restore them to their normal positions after movement therefrom, anda beam forv transmitting motion from one valve to the other, to unseat the latter and allow air to exhaust from the brake-cylinder, substantially as set forth.

, communicatingwith the brakecylinder,valves IOO IIO

within the two chambers, and means for transmitting motion from one valve to the other, to unseat the latter and alloW the exhaust of air from the brake-cylinder, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with the main brakepipe, the auxiliary reservoir, the brake-cylinder, and means for controlling the passage of air from the main pipe to the auxiliary reservoir, and thence to the brakecylinder, of a pressure chamber communicating with the main pipe, a release-chamber communicating with the brake-cylinder, valves Within the two chambers7 and means for transmitting motion from one valve to the other, to unseat the latter and allow air to exhaust from the brakecylinder, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination of the release-chamber provided with a valve and escape-port, and

constructed to receive air from the brake-cylinder, and a pressure-chamber provided with a valve connected with the valve in the releasechamber, and constructed to receive an intlowing agent toactuate its valve to transmit its movement to the valve in the releasechamber, to unseat the same to open the escape-port, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. l

7. The combination of the pressure-chamber provided with the valve having a stem sliding through the end of the chamber, the releasechamber connected to the pressure-chamber Without communieating` therewith7 and provided with the valve having,` a stem sliding through the end of the chamber, and the beam fulerumed upon a suitable support and connecting the stems of the two valves, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination ofthe pressure-chamber and release-chamber, each provided with the vdetachable caps, the valve to each chamber provided with a stem passing` through the end of the chamber, and the cross-beam fulcrumed on a suitable support, and having its opposite ends over the ends ol the valve-stems7 and adapted to receive momentum therefrom, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination ofthe pressure-chamber, the' release-chamber, the valves withinthe two chambers having stems sliding` through the ends of the chambers, the springs acting on the valves, and the beam eonnectingthe stems ofthe valves, substantially as set forth.

l0. The combination, with the pressurechamber and the release-chamber andtheir valves, of the adjustable post or support, and the beam adapted to be adjusted on said post or support, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

COLLUMBUS PHILLIPS. [L s] Vi tnesses E. W. MARTIN,

WM. A. I-LiYcooD. 

